The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis about our nation and its people. Information from the survey generates data that help inform how trillions of dollars in federal funds are distributed each year.

The detailed socioeconomic information that is collected in the ACS was once collected via the Decennial Census long-form questionnaire. The survey provides current data about all communities every year, rather than once every 10 years. The last Decennial Census with a long form was in 2000. Thanks to the ACS, the 2010 and 2020 Census only asked basic information: name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship and housing tenure.

The first small-scale test of the ACS in the field was in 1996 and the first national test was in 2000. The survey went into full implementation in 2005, with the first 1-year estimates for areas of 65,000 or more people released in September 2006 for the year 2005. The first 5-year estimates, using data collected from 2005-2009, were released in late 2010. Current 1- and 5-year estimates are released every fall for the previous 1- and 5-year periods.